


we built this town on shaky ground

by anabananana



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: M/M, au in which they go on the 4th of july roadtrip, gosh if i dont even know what this is, it's just a bunch jarchie fragments
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-18
Updated: 2017-02-18
Packaged: 2018-09-25 08:11:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 995
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9810815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anabananana/pseuds/anabananana
Summary: Because he loves Archie. And Archie loves him.Sometimes.





	

**Author's Note:**

> helloooo
> 
> alright let me try and explain what this is  
> [x] an AU in which they do go on the fourth of july roatrip  
> [x] a semi established relationship between them i guess ???  
> [x] honestly, it's hella messy and if enough people can make enough sense of it to like it then i might write something longer and better lmao so lemme know lmao  
> [x] not beta'd & was hashed out in like 30 mins so sorry for all the mistakes there's bound to be  
> [x] title is from the song atlantis by seafret  
> BUT ENJOY

Sometimes it feels like flying. It’s when the windows are down and maybe they’re driving over the speed limit just a little bit. It’s when it’s dawn or dusk and the light hasn’t quite yet reached all the corners of their world just yet. It’s when they stop on the side of the road because Archie insists Jug can’t miss this, even though he is taking it all in while he’s driving. It’s when Archie falls asleep in the passenger seat beside him and the wind ruffles his overgrown auburn mop. That’s when it feels like flying.

 

\-------------

 

“Look at me! Come on! One photo, Jug!” Archie is laughing, the wind is whipping through the open window and flicking his hair into crazy shapes and Jughead is staring straight at the road, trying hard not to look at the passenger seat and trying even harder not to give in and smile. They had been on the road for a day and a half now. And even though it had been a long time since the last time they’d taken a road trip, old traditions and ways fell into place all the same. Archie, with his phone now, trying to take pictures. Jug at the wheel refusing to oblige. The backseat shamefully littered with way too many empty chip packets. Driving from dawn till dusk.

 

It felt like old times, except now an absent hand found its way onto Jughead’s thigh from time to time, and when they went to sleep in the, now shabby, tent, they weren’t on complete opposite sides, staying In their allocated corners, but instead were curled against each other, Archie planting a kiss to Jughead’s temple before settling down to sleep. Things changed, childhood friendships turned into… into whatever this was.

 

\-------------

 

“Archie?”

Jughead gently taps on Archie’s knee to wake him up. They’ve been in his driveway for longer than necessary, but Jughead truly couldn’t bare wake him up. He looked way too peaceful. Archie had fallen asleep in the passenger seat and it was some kind of beautiful. A beautiful he was lucky to witness. So he just sat there, trying not to stare, and trying not to be so damn awkward.

“We’re already home?” Archie grumbled, shifting in his seat and running his fingers through his hair, mussing it up even more.

“Yeah, you are.”

“Thanks for driving, Jug.”

“Anytime.”

“See you at school?”

“You bet.”

Archie waved before disappearing into his house and Jughead drove away, wishing more than ever that they didn’t have to come home, but could just be in this car together for the rest of their lives.

 

 

\-------------

 

The road trip world they lived in had to seep away and Archie wasn’t in love with him anymore, or he just didn’t want to show it. And Jug was alone again.

 

Time moved strangely after that. Not too fast but not too slow either. They speak, or they don’t speak. They eat at Pop’s. They eat at Pop’s alone. They eat at Pop’s with Veronica and Betty. They hold hands a little absently and for only a couple of seconds across a table, in a car, under the bleachers. Sometimes it’s incredibly cliché. Sometimes it’s just typical Archie and Jughead. They never talk about it. They never address it. But Jughead knows that there are memories stored in the backseats of his mind that don’t fit in the term friendship. He knows that this will be a painful ride, but one he is willing to take. Because he loves Archie. And Archie loves him.

 

Sometimes.

 

\-------------

 

 

He stands on Archie’s front stoop, heart pounding, his backpack slung over one shoulder, his fingers crossed in the hopes that Betty won’t miraculously appear and ask questions in the time that it takes Archie to get downstairs. The door opens, and there he is. The tall boy with the auburn hair. He looks tired and for a moment Jughead feels bad for waking him up.

“It’ll just be one night.” He whispers quickly.

“Come on.” Archie replies, moving to the side so that Jughead can step into the house. They creep upstairs and Archie climbs right back into bed, sitting up and watching as Jug awkwardly puts his bag down and toes off his shoes. He pulls off his shirt, then finally tugs off his beanie. He gingerly tucks himself into bed beside Archie, who shuffles back down, so he’s lying on his back.

“It doesn’t have to be just one night.” Archie whispers after they’ve been silent for a while. Jughead stares up at the ceiling that he can’t actually see in the darkness. He doesn’t reply, because he doesn’t know how. After a while, Archie turns over to lie on his side, facing away from him, and for a brief moment it’s like he can breathe again. Then, Archie is reaching back and tugging at Jughead’s arm and pulling it over his ribcage and leaving it to rest just beneath his elbow. Jug lets his body move along with it, and then they’re spooning. Like they have so many times before, but somehow this time is different. Because it has been a weird couple of weeks and they haven’t spoken properly during any of it.

“You can breathe, you know.” Archie whispers, and Jug can hear him smiling. In response, he carefully finds Archie’s fingers and slips his own between them.

 

\-------------

 

It doesn’t start or end, whatever this is between them. He would say it’s infinite, but he doesn’t ever want to sound like a John Green novel. It just _is_.

 

Sometimes they are Jughead and Archie—they sleep in the same bed, their fingers intertwine, they kiss occasionally, they easily share a milkshake using the same straw.

 

And sometimes they are Jughead and Archie—barely a nod when they pass in the halls, an awkward encounter when pushed together as lab partners, boys who look like they have just met.

 

And that’s when Jughead’s wings are clipped away.

**Author's Note:**

> ngl all of this stemmed from kj and cole's wonderful ~friend~ship so if anyone wants to scream about them with me pls hit me up on tumblr @ilanaglazers


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